Butcher surgeon Ian Paterson gives bizarre reason for refusing to take part in inquest

Disgraced doctor Ian Paterson claims his life is at risk if he were to attend the inquests into the death of 62 of his female patients. He subjected more than 1,000 patients to unnecessary and damaging operations over 14 years

A killer surgeon has refused to take part in the inquests of 62 women he operated on, claiming his life would be at risk.

Ian Paterson, who subjected more than 1,000 patients to unnecessary and damaging operations over 14 years, and is serving a 20 year jail sentence, has today refused to give evidence, despite being ordered by a coroner. The 66-year-old refused to leave his cell and did not show up at the hearing. He told the court he would not be participating in an 11th-hour letter via his lawyers.

He claims his life is at risk if he were to attend, although details explaining why this would be were not read in the inquest hearing. The application said: "There is no prospect of Mr Paterson's legal representatives having adequate time and facilities to prepare for the hearings that are currently timetabled."

He also claims he does not have adequate means to prepare and he fears that if the coroner finds any of the women were unlawfully killed, the Director of Public Prosecutions would be forced to bring charges against him. However, the submission added that the application was not intended to be obstructive, adding: "It has been noted before and bears repeating that Mr Paterson wants to participate in these inquests. In the circumstances that currently prevail, it would be unreasonable to ask Mr Paterson to comply with the Schedule 5 Notice."

On hearing his plea for the coroner to revoke the schedule 5 notice - compelling him to take part in the hearing - families of those who lost their lives were given the opportunity by Judge Richard Foster to have their say. One said it was unacceptable that he would not take part, while Mr Baker, whose wife's death will be discussed in the coming weeks, said he was going through hell.

He said: "I don't know the intricacies of the legal system but on a personal level, a lot of the families have been put through hell by this individual and are having that hell extended by more delays that Paterson is creating. Lots of the families are now receiving counselling and I think it's unacceptable to put them through more delays."

The daughter of Jennifer Lloyd-Faux, who died after Paterson operated on her, also spoke. She added: "The whole experience is quite traumatic for all of the families of the victims. This is an inquest and the fact that he can't have legal representation or evidence to review in his own time, this is not a criminal or civil hearing, it's a fact finding mission. I don't understand why we have got to go through more delays."

Mr Moss, who is representing a number of families, also reminded the coroner that Paterson "has form for exaggerating his health conditions" as he did ahead of his trial in 2017. In 2017, Paterson was found guilty of 17 counts of wounding people with intent and three counts of unlawful wounding.

Now a joint inquest is being held for more than 60 of his patients who died after they were treated by him. He left male and female patients significantly deformed, with one looking like a "car crash victim" after telling them they were at risk from cancer when they were healthy.

More than 560 patient deaths have been considered so far by a multi-disciplinary team of medical experts, leading to the opening of 62 inquests. The full inquest began on Monday and is expected to last for 11 months.

Paterson, then a consultant, was employed by the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust and practised in the independent sector at Spire Parkway and Spire Little Aston, all in Birmingham, between 1997 and 2011. He thought he was a pioneer and performed unregulated "cleavage-sparing" mastectomies, leaving cancerous tissue behind, which led to the recurrence of the disease in many patients.

He advised numerous patients that they had pre-cancerous lumps, leading to unnecessary surgeries that caused both physical and mental scarring. He also carried out unnecessary surgery for various veins, hernias and several other medical procedures. After his trial, a review was carried out and in 2020 recommendations were made to prevent surgeons being able to carry out unregulated and unnecessary operations, but those have still not been implemented.

Linda Millband, head of group claims at Thompsons Solicitors, is representing 14 families who are involved in the coroner’s investigation. She said: “Whilst we wouldn’t normally comment during an inquest hearing, I would like to make clear how deeply disappointed my clients are by Paterson’s refusal to attend the inquests into the deaths of 62 of his patients.

“His absence is a disservice to the families who have already endured unimaginable pain and suffering following the deaths of their loved ones. These families deserve to know how their loved ones died and what were the causes. The claim that Mr Paterson lacks adequate facilities to prepare for the hearings is unacceptable. The court has made extensive efforts to ensure he has access to the necessary resources, and his continued attempts to evade participation only add to the distress of those families whose loved ones have died.”

The coroner is expected to make a ruling later today and explain if the hearings will go ahead as planned.